


OUAT, episode 6: ''Lullaby''

by Omorocca



Series: Once Upon a Time [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-08
Updated: 2012-10-08
Packaged: 2017-11-15 22:34:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/532516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorocca/pseuds/Omorocca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this one between the first and second episode of season 2, trying to make my story fit as much as possible with what the first episode had given us. I waited for the episode 2 to complete the last two chapters, to make sure they fitted as well. Hope you like it.</p>
<p>Again, please comment if you liked it, if you hated it and why. Any respectful comment or critic is accepted. Thank you!</p>
            </blockquote>





	OUAT, episode 6: ''Lullaby''

Fanfiction  
Characters © OUAT writers and producers  
Mother Gothel and Rapunzel © Grimm  
Rebecca, Dominic and original characters are mine

 

Prologue

“Henry?”

The desert streets of Storybrooke were plunged in darkness. No sign of the boy anywhere. Emma ran back to the pawnshop, where all her friends were. Mr Gold had come out, but not his Belle.

“Where is he? Where’s my son?”  
“I have no idea, Mr Gold answered. He was right here a minute ago, wasn’t he?”

At this moment, there was some kind of thud. Like an earthquake. The dwarves all startled, wondering what could have caused it, Red screamed and Emma looked at Gold immediately.

“What the hell was that?”

The whole sky was like a tempest, car alarms were blaring and people began to panic.

“That, the pawnbroker answered, is my gift to you… That is going to take care of Regina.”

They looked towards the Sheriff’s station, where the witch was locked up. Something was headed there to kill her if they didn’t stop it in time.

“Emma, Snow said, come on!”  
“We need to go take care of this”, Charming continued.

Emma agreed, but had one more word for Gold.

“We’re not done!”  
“Oh, I know, he answered. You still owe me a favour.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the remains of the Enchanted Forest

Emma groaned when she woke up, not knowing what had happened. The last thing she remembered was the Wraith. They had managed to make Jefferson’s hat work and the Wraith was charging Regina. Then—

Emma’s groaning and moving woke Mary Margaret and they stared at each other.

“What happened?”  
“That’s what we’d like to know”, said a harsh woman’s voice before them.

They sat up to see who had spoken and saw two very strange women. One of them was dressed like a fairy tale princess and the other, like a Chinese warrior. They seemed to be outside in the remains of some kind of castle.

“The hell?” was the only thing Emma could ask.

But the Chinese warrior wasn’t going to explain. Instead, she asked some questions in a manner which resembled a police interrogatory. Emma, used to this kind of behaviour, didn’t let it impress her.

“Who are you?”  
“Emma Swan… who are you?”  
“Where did you come from?”  
“uh…”  
“Why did you bring the Qui Shen to this world?”  
“The what?”  
“The soul-sucker! Why did you bring him here?”  
“We didn’t— Where are we?” asked Mary Margaret.  
“I’m asking the questions. Why did you bring the soul sucker here?”  
“We brought no one nowhere, Emma answered. We sent it to a dead world. This was supposed to destroy it.”  
“Unless, Mary Margaret continued, our world wasn’t completely dead.”  
“What?”

Emma got up, ignoring the Chinese woman and looked around, not understanding what she was seeing. So this was the world they had all come from?

“You don’t mean…”  
“Something survived?”  
“It did”, answered the gentle woman dressed as a princess.

But the warrior didn’t let the princess explain.

“We survived the destruction of the other realms. We were stuck here with nothing changing and not knowing what to do about it. Now that things began to move again, you sent this monster here and it killed Prince Philip.”  
“It what?” Emma saw the man lying on the pedestal in the distance. “This doesn’t make any sense. Aren’t people supposed to be marked to be killed?”  
“He was marked”, the princess answered.  
“We didn’t mark him—”  
“But you sent the beast here, the warrior interrupted. If it weren’t for you, Philip would still be alive.”  
“Oh come on! This is ridiculous!... It’s like saying ‘because Snow White survived all of Regina’s attacks, she’s responsible for Regina’s curse’. That doesn’t make any sense!”  
“Enough! We will take you with us and think over this at the camp. Aurora, bind their hands.”

Emma reached for her gun, but the woman already had her sword on Mary Margaret’s neck, making sure the Saviour behaved.

“Start with this one.”  
“Mulan, are you sure they’re responsible?”  
“I’d rather be wrong than dead.”

Aurora sighed and began to tie Emma’s hands, with a sorry look on her face. This strange behaviour eluded her understanding, but since she needed Mulan to survive, she wasn’t going to contradict her. Once she was done, she took Emma’s gun and looked at it strangely for a moment before she gave it to Mulan and proceeded to tie Mary Margaret’s hands.

“Don’t worry, Emma, Mary Margaret said in a reassuring manner. It will be all right.”  
“How do you know?”  
“I just feel it. I promise, it will be okay.”

She was scared to death, actually. However, as a mother, she felt like she had to tell Emma something comforting.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storybrooke, Maine

Mr Gold waited on the balcony of his house with his beloved, as Rebecca Toren and Dominic Muller were putting all the remains of their belongings in Rebecca’s friend’s car. Now that they all remembered who they were, they would move with their family, with the king and their son, and pick up their lives where they had left them.

“Are you sure you want this?” he asked.

Rapunzel didn’t answer. It was Wilfried who approached the pawnbroker.

“We’re going to live with our family, yes we are sure. What’s the problem?”  
“I have seen Mr Fisher’s house, Dominic. I own the land it’s on. There’s not enough room for the four of you in there.”  
“Why do you care, ‘Gold’? We’re going to be with our son, no matter where we live.”  
“I have the room here. It’s the least I could do until you find a better place.”  
“Sure, we’ll be really cosy at the ‘Rumpelstiltskin Bed and Breakfast’!”  
“Gavin has invited us all into his roof, Rapunzel finally answered. We will be fine.”

Her tone was softer than before, but he could still hear the reproach. The blame he wore on his shoulders for not helping her when he should have. The debate was closed.

“Is there anything I can do to—”  
“You didn’t keep your promise earlier. You owe me twice now.”  
“I know… I had my reasons and I know they don’t all make sense to you. But I’ll find a way to honour my debt. I give you my word.”  
“mmm… well, I must go. They need my help at the crisis centre.”  
“Still using your mother’s magic to save people’s lives?”

She had a little smile.

“Someone here has got to use magic for good, huh?”  
“Touché, my dear.”

He bowed his head with a smile at the tease. She smiled a little more and gave a hug to Belle.

“I’ll be seeing you around.” And then she looked at Gold and touched her amulet. “I’ll be back for the other half.”

He scoffed and they parted. But even if the terms were civilised, he knew he had done something horrible by refusing to uphold his promise and help Rapunzel find her son. He had, after all, promised to keep him safe.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

King Gabriel’s castle  
(before the curse)

On the balcony of their room, Rapunzel was contemplating the sunrise and playing with her mother’s necklace. Her spell had worked and the menace known as Blue Beard was now gone. Her family was safe and her baby boy was now finally asleep. Wilfried, a book on his lap, was attempting to keep guard on his new-born son and slowly failing. But the witch’s daughter couldn’t sleep. She had too many questions.

“Well, well, well… Shouldn’t you be resting?”

She startled and, in the room, Wilfried woke up. Both had heard the voice and on the ramp of the balcony casually sat the man who had spoken.

“You! What are you doing here?”  
“I wanted to see how you were doing, dearie”, Rumpelstiltskin answered. “It would seem you handled your legacy quite well.”

It took less than three seconds and the imp had Wilfried’s sword on his throat. He grinned at the prince’s useless reaction. Useless but also brave.

“You think this is funny?” Wilfried asked. “I will let you leave right now, because you gave us some help with Blue Beard, but I will not give you another chance. Leave now.”  
“Or what? You’ll cut my head off with this little knife?” He slapped the blade out of his way and jumped from the barrier with a little funny sound. “Nyihi! Let’s get back to why I’m here. I wanted to congratulate you on a very good job. For a first spell, it was impressive, dearie. Your mother would be proud.”  
“You son of a— ”

She wanted to hit him, but Wilfried stopped her and put himself between the two to protect his wife. Rumpelstiltskin laughed.

“I might not be powerful enough, Rapunzel said, but I will find a way. I swear, if you don’t leave immediately, I’ll impress you all the way back to hell, Rumpelstiltskin! You have hurt this family hard enough, if you have any decency left, you would make amends instead of tormenting me.”

The imp’s smile slightly faded. She had hit a nerve and somehow knew it.

“About thaaat… I’m sorry for your loss.”  
“Get out of here!”  
“I am. Killing your mother wasn’t my intention. I only wanted to deal with her, but alas, she refused. We fought, but then I did something foolish.”  
“Barbaric, you mean!”  
“I didn’t murder her!” He was growing more impatient. “But I said… something to her and she did the darndest thing. She broke her protective shield and my spell just fell through and that’s what killed her.”  
“An I’m supposed to just believe you? What did you tell her?”  
“I can’t recall”, he answered sarcastically to show he was still in control of the game.  
“Don’t lie to me, you monster! Tell me what you told her!”

He sighed and bowed his head, giving up on the teasing.

“I might have mentioned I could ask you to help me make the amulet work. She let herself die to keep you safe.” He took a step closer to her, ignoring Wilfried and his sword. “I swear, Rapunzel, it was not my intent to kill her. I know intent is meaningless, but I thought you deserved to know.”  
“Why are you telling me this?”  
“Because your mother was an amazing witch, dearie. I had much respect for her… and I owe her this much.”  
“You owe her much more than that and you owe me as well, Rumpelstiltskin. You took my only family from me; you owe me to make sure my new family stays safe.”  
“Come again?”  
“My son. You owe me to at least keep him safe. If you truly respected my mother, if it really was an accident, if there’s the slightest part of you that’s really sorry for all this… then you make sure Gabriel will always be safe.”

The imp’s reaction changed when the witch’s daughter mentioned her son. On her neck, the amulet shone a little, as did the one in his hand. She twitched and looked at him strangely.

“You seem… different, when I mention my son.” He didn’t answer. She grabbed her amulet and briefly looked blankly, trying to understand this new connection between them. “There’s something about it that bothers you…”  
“Don’t”, he asked.  
“Something about it…” And then she understood what this feeling was. “You have a child.”  
“This is not your business.” He was slowly panicking.  
“What happened?”

Wilfried put his sword away, worried.

“How did you see this?” he asked his wife.  
“I don’t know, she answered. I think… the amulets, I think they’re connected.”  
“You, he asked the imp. You have a child?”  
“Again, this is my business. Not yours.” He obviously was surprised by the amulet’s powers. He had not seen that one coming. This was yet another of Gothel’s tricks.  
“I feel something tragic, Rapunzel said. What happened?”  
“No!”  
“You can tell me…” She pointed to the other amulet in his hand. “Or I can guess it.”

He was annoyed now. Talking about it really was hard on him. He wouldn’t stand being so vulnerable in front of a potential enemy.

“I- I lost him”, he finally said to get rid of the subject. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I am needed someplace else.”

Rapunzel didn’t listen and walked inside the room. After a few seconds, she was back out, carrying her son.

“If your respect for my mother isn’t enough, then perhaps your love for your son will do it? You took my mother, Rumpelstiltskin; promise me you will do everything in your power to make sure no harm ever comes to my son. As a parent, promise me this.”

Rumpelstiltskin tried to answer something acrimonious, but nothing came out of his mouth but some kind of stutter. For a brief moment, his soul was bared before them and he couldn’t hide his pain. He sighed and tried to shake it off.

“I promise.”  
“Promise on your son’s memory. Promise on the love you feel for him”, she asked.  
“I- … All right… Just stop talking about him. I give you my word.”

She smiled for she knew he was a man of his word. She felt it.

“I believe you”, she finally said.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storybrooke, Maine

Inside her house, Regina was slowly reading a strange book, when she heard a knock at the door. A smile appeared on her face and she quickly went to answer and introduce the man before anyone outside witnessed she was having a visitor. She greeted him with a warm smile and closed the door the moment he was inside.

“I got your message, Your Majesty.”  
“Come in, my dear friend… My, you look like the picture of health. Did you finally find what you wanted?”  
“One could say that, Blue Beard answered gloomily. The woman who once prevented me from getting the Fisher King’s grail just decided to cure all my pains. She made sure I would owe her.”  
“This little pest.”

The man has an annoyed grin as to signify he would rather not talk about it.

“But how about you? Do I hear you regained your powers? What happened?”  
“Long story.” Now she was the one looking sullen. “I had enough power to escape, but it didn’t make much of a difference. I was marked to be killed by a Wraith.”  
“A Wraith? Who—”  
“Gold… I mean, Rumpelstiltskin. He left a medallion in the cell, when he visited me. I picked it up but I saw too late what it was. A few minutes later, the Wraith was on me, trying to suck out my soul.”  
“How did you survive this one?”  
“Emma… She promised Henry she would keep me safe.”  
“So we both owe our lives to our enemy”, the man concluded. She acquiesced and he asked what he was wondering since he had gotten her message. “Why did you ask for me?”  
“Because I think we can help each other, she answered with a smile. You see, I want my son back. I tried to make him come to me last night, but that girl Ruby found him in time and woke him up. He’s with his birth grandfather now. You once had magic. If you lend me some of what you have, I’ll be strong enough to get my son back.”  
“What do you offer me in exchange?”

Her smile became more mischievous. He understood even before she spoke.

“I can help you ensure you won’t have to pay back what you owe Gothel’s daughter.”

 

At the crisis centre, everything was hectic, and Rapunzel helped as much as she could. Since she wasn’t a witch, she could only use a fraction of the amulet’s powers, but any help was welcome. Most of the wounded were now in a stable state and she could rest a little while others were bombarding Prince ‘Charming’ with questions, relying on him to help fix things or to simply fix them by himself. He was, after all, the Saviour’s father; he knew best.

Rapunzel smiled. The poor man had more than he could handle. Luckily, she didn’t need to add her problems to everybody else’s. She had gotten her family back. No matter what else happened, her life was fine this way.

She was watching Wilfried help the firemen by the entrance of City Hall, when two children came to her, followed by a man.

“Princess Rapunzel?”  
“Oh, hello you two!” She briefly put her hands on the kids’ shoulders, concerned. “Is everything all right?”  
“It is, said the man that was with them. I just wanted to thank you, Your Highness, for saving my boy and for helping my children get home.”  
“Oh, well… I didn’t exactly save Hansel. I just cured a wound. It was more fear than harm.” She caressed the boy’s cheek with a nervous smile. “As for getting them home, it’s my husband Wilfried who did this.”  
“I know. We thanked him for it too. I just wanted to thank you as well.”  
“You are most welcome.”  
“Did you find your family?” Hansel inquired.  
“Hansel, said his father. Don’t embarrass Her Highness with that. It’s personal matter.”  
“No, it’s fine. And, please, I’m just Rapunzel… or Miss Toren here. And yes, I found them.”

Hansel smiled and his father brought both children closer to him, as to leave.

“Come on, let’s go thank the Prince again and get you home. From the sight of things, I’ll have to work a lot today.”

He looked at all the car accidents in the street, all the work he had ahead, and took his children to see Wilfried, after thanking Rapunzel one last time. Now that this was done, the princess decided to get to the hospital quickly to help the patients who would have to get transported there. A little touch to her amulet gave her some confidence.

Crossing the street, she saw a black Mercedes driving towards her and accelerating. Through the windshield, she saw Regina staring at her with an angry grin. When the car came close, Rapunzel jumped on the side, making sure it wouldn’t hit her. This was exactly what Regina had planned. The second car, coming from the other side of the street, hit the woman so hard that she fell on the hood, cracked the windshield with her elbow and rolled back to the ground with a terrifying thud. A second later, the whole car was rolling over her, the wheels crushing her belly.

Ruby was with the crowd, when her powerful ears heard the sound of the tires screeching. She looked to see an old rusty blue Plymouth flee the scene and Miss Toren on the ground. She ran to her and immediately recognised the smell of blood. Miss Toren was bleeding internally and out, barely breathing and couching blood.

“Help!... HELP!!!”

The Mother Superior ran instinctively to help but could only witness the horror, for her fairy powers were still eluding her. She ran back to get Dr Whale, the only one who could actually help the poor woman.

“What happened?”  
“A car ran her down, Ruby answered. The driver didn’t even stop. We need to warn her boyfriend… uh… Dominic, I think?”

But the man was already running to them.

“Rapunzel!... Oh no! What happened?”  
“Wil…?” she tried to answer, but only spat some blood.  
“No… don’t force it… Just relax, we will find a way to fix this. Right, Doctor?”  
“ugh… I honestly don’t know”, Dr Whale answered.

The prince wasn’t going to accept this answer. He was going to save his true love, no matter the cost. He thought hard and then something came to him.

“Ruby, right?”  
“Close enough”, she answered.  
“I need you to run to Mr Gold’s pawnshop. If he’s not there, try his house. If he’s not there either, then go to the house of Dave Bauer. He’s family; he’ll know where to find Gold.”  
“What do I tell him?”  
“Tell him his ex-wife needs his help. Tell him… she needs him to pay his debt now.”

Ruby ran as fast as she could to her car and took off. She too needed to find Gold, but for reasons of her own. Those reasons, however, would have to wait.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

King Gabriel’s castle  
(before the curse)

In the war council room of the castle, King Gabriel and his family were consulting with the councillors and messengers. Rapunzel was there too, since she represented Gothel’s lands and the faithful Gavin stood by her side.

“Are you sure about this?” the king asked.  
“That’s what we all heard, a messenger answered. This curse is really coming and it will destroy all the realms. But as to when it will happen, Sire, none of us knows.”  
“What can we do about it?” he asked Rapunzel.  
“I don’t know, Father… I could try to look in my mother’s book for a counter curse, but that is unlikely. I was lucky with Blue Beard, but I barely know what I’m doing. We need help.”  
“What do you propose?” Wilfried asked.  
“Well, Maleficent helped us before, out of respect for my mother. But she is not answering my messengers now… There’s still Rumpelstiltskin who owes me a favour. I could collect.”  
“I will not allow this man on my grounds again, the king groaned. He harmed this family once, never again.”  
“I already sent messengers to him, Father, Wilfried answered. His castle is locked from all visitors and he is nowhere to be found.”  
“I will find him, Gavin proposed. I will speak to him and find out what can be done to protect us from this curse.”

Rapunzel and Wilfried looked at each other, with worry. What kind of evil was waiting for them now? Until Gavin returned with an answer, the witch’s daughter promised herself she would learn more about magic. She would learn all she could.

 

Three days had passed and Rapunzel was still reading her mother’s book, her baby boy in her arms casually playing with her necklace, when Gavin walked in, bearing a face of bad news.

“Oh, Gavin! Finally… What happened? I was so worried.”

He first startled from surprise and then had a little laugh.

“Just like your mother, My Lady.”  
“What, a woman can’t be worried about her closest friend?”

She had a little smile and looked at him in a motherly manner which troubled him.

“Did you find him?”  
“I did, My Lady. That’s why I came back. I heard he went to deal with Princess Cinderella; do you know her?”  
“I don’t think so.”  
“Apparently, he wanted her first-born, so she had him locked up. How she managed that is beyond my understanding.”  
“The only way would be with magic… so he’s imprisoned at her castle?”  
“No, her husband, Prince Thomas, and a Prince James had a special prison made for him. Somewhere in an abandoned Dwarf mine.”  
“Could you take us there?”  
“I could, but I don’t think this is a good idea.”  
“Gavin, please! I need to know my family will be safe from this curse.”

She had her hand on his shoulder, so gently. He knew it meant she was including him in her ‘family’ statement. He bowed his head.

“Very well. We can go there tonight.”

 

In the mines, the guard saw them come in and shouted.

“Halt! You can’t come in here!”  
“Of course we can”, Wilfried answered unceremoniously. “Whether you can stop us is a different matter.”

Rapunzel had a little smile and moved her hand up. The guard was gently pushed against the wall by magic and the three visitors simply walked all the way to the cell where the strange man awaited.

“Prrrincess Rrrrrapunzel!” He had a flourished bow, complete with ridiculous hand gestures. “To what do I owe the honour?”  
“I see you are feeling quite well, Rumpelstiltskin.”  
“I manage!”

He had a funny face and laughter, as the guard was regaining his senses and coming to them.

“If you don’t follow me outside immediately, I will have to— ”  
“Use force?” Gavin asked with a smile. “Well, that’s why they brought me along.”  
“We’ll just be a minute, Wilfried said. No one will ever know we were here. It’s very important.”  
“I’m always happy to have visitors, the imp added. My days are sooo sad here.”

But the hatred and fear the guard had for Rumpelstiltskin didn’t make him enjoy this funny remark. Before he could even say anything, however, Rapunzel was already engaged in a conversation with the prisoner.

“A curse is coming…”  
“I noticed, dearie. And you wonder how to vanquish it, which is the reason that brought you here. Well, you came to me for nothing, we cannot defeat this curse. It will hit us all; we will soon all be prisoners, very soon.”

Saying that, he looked at the guard, making sure he registered the future he had in store for him. The guard swallowed with difficulty for he really feared the imp’s prophecies.

“I want to make sure my family survives this, Rapunzel said. Is there something you can do to make sure of it?”  
“Like what? Cast a spell?”  
“Anything to make sure the people I love are not hurt.”  
“Oh, well… there’s nothing to worry about, dearie. You are not the main targets of this curse. You will only live in a haze until it’s broken.”  
“Will it really break?”  
“Indeed. The Saviour’s parents came to visit, a few days ago. Someone will break it and you will find your family again.”  
“You promise me?”  
“On what we both hold dear, Your Highness.” He was now very serious. He would not dare joke about his son. “Your boy will be safe, as I promised.”  
“I believe you”, she answered him for the second time in a few weeks.

She walked closer to the bars and stared into his creepy bloodshot eyes. He held her stare as much as he could. Something about the way she looked at him, as if she could see his wretched soul.

“Are you all right?” she finally asked, completely catching everyone off-guard.  
“Peachy, thank you for asking.”

But she had seen something at his feet.

“What is this?” She kneeled and reached for his food bowl.  
“Don’t mind it.” He grabbed her hand before she could get it out, ashamed to let her see what she had taken.  
“Let go of her hand immediately”, the guard screamed, drawing his sword.  
“What is this?” she asked again.

Rumpelstiltskin tried to make her give up, but it was too late. They all could see she was holding a spoonful of food and worms.

“What the hell?” Wilfried asked the guard. “You are feeding him this?”  
“Why do you care? It’s not like he deserves any better.”  
“So this is how you treat someone who’s at your mercy? How moral can you and your masters claim to be when you can’t even afford to have some decency towards your enemy?”  
“I don’t think his masters know what’s going on here”, Gavin answered.  
“So this is all your doing. You and the other guards are doing this for pleasure?”

Rapunzel sighed and looked through her travel purse. In it was an apple. She handed it to the imp.

“Here. It’s not much… but it’s better than worms and bugs.”  
“That’s not necessary.” She put it by force in his hand and he simply stood there, looking at the present. “W- well, thank you.”  
“I’ll be seeing you around, Rumpelstiltskin.”  
“You definitely will, Rapunzel.”

And the visitors left him alone with his guard and with the apple. Such a sweet gift in spite of the circumstances. Knowing he was allowed no visitors, no gifts, nothing but bugs and misery, Rumpelstiltskin got as close to the bars as he could to look at the guard’s face. He grinned at his reaction, teasing him, and slowly took a bite.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storybrooke, Maine

They rushed Rapunzel, who was now unconscious, into an operating room and the whole time, Wilfried kept her hand in his own, praying and kissing it. She had saved him so often with magic and he was saddened to be unable to do the same. Dr Whale plugged a few machines on his patient, seriously not knowing what difference they could do. But he had nothing else.

“Please, Gold, Wilfried prayed. Come quick. She needs you now.”  
“That’s what I heard”, spoke a voice behind them.

He raised his head to see Mr Gold and Elizabeth, Rumpelstiltskin and Belle.

“How did you come here so fast?” Wilfried asked.  
“I felt a terrible pain crushing my stomach.” He got his own amulet out of his pocket. It was shining bright. “What happened?”  
“She was run over by a car. She’s really hurt, please… I don’t know what to do. She’s the one always curing me. I have no magic. You must do something.”  
“I’ll see what I can do, Your Highness. But she was terribly wounded.”

He sat by the prince’s side and took Rapunzel’s half of Gothel’s amulet.

“It’s just for now”, he said.

When he put the two halves together, the amulet twitched and shone brightly. Rumpelstiltskin took Belle’s hand in his free hand and kissed it.

“Gothel’s magic works with true love only. I need your help.”  
“Anything I can do”, she answered uncertain.

Slowly, he began to focus on curing Rapunzel with her mother’s magic. By his side, Belle kept holding his hand and praying. The princess’ heart rate grew faster and faster as the jewel shone more and more. But suddenly, Rumpelstiltskin frowned.

“Dominic… something’s wrong. Your wife needs your love.”  
“She has it.”  
“Kiss her! Make your own magic work.”

Wilfried immediately kissed Rapunzel fully on the lips and the jewel in Rumpelstiltskin’s hand shone to its fullest. A second later, Rapunzel’s vitals were all good, according to the machines she was plugged on. But the amulet wasn’t finished. From it, rose the shape of an older woman. A woman Wilfried and Rumpelstiltskin both recognized.

“You have saved my daughter’s life. You have grown much since we last met, Rumpelstiltskin. You still possess the horrible powers of the Dark One, but this selfless act of kindness will save your soul.”

The man dared not answer. Fighting Gothel now would be stupid. Instead, he did another selfless act: he put the whole amulet back in Rapunzel’s hand. He would not need it anymore. His powers had returned with magic.

By his side, Wilfried was attending to Rapunzel with an eye on her mother. The old woman saw that and gave a smile to the prince.

“Take great care of her, Prince Wilfried.”  
“I will, Lady Gothel.”

The woman’s shape vanished as her daughter was coming back to consciousness. She looked at her husband for a moment and then saw Mr Gold and Belle by her side.

“What happened?”  
“You were hit by a car”, Wilfried answered.  
“It was Blue Beard, Mr Gold added. I felt it happen. He and Regina worked to try to kill you. And they almost succeeded.”  
“But you saved my life…”  
“I owed it to you. I couldn’t help you protect or find your first son… but I would have saved the second one.”  
“… What?”

He put a hand on her belly and had a conniving smile. A smile everyone in the room understood.

“For two weeks now… congratulations.”

 

In her garden, sitting by her dying apple tree, Regina looked at her book again. On the street before her, in his car, Blue Beard took a little key from his pocket and held it in front of his eyes. A little gold key covered in bloodstains. This key would make him pay his debt to the queen. He closed his eyes and sent some of the magic he had Regina’s way at the exact moment she opened her book. The combined magic energy hit the former queen right away. She breathed it in and smiled.

Her powers were back.

Now it was time for her to go get her son and bring him back home.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Survivors’ camp  
(after the curse)

Emma looked at Mary Margaret. Once they had reached a camp and were free from being dragged by horses like cattle, they had tried to escape and miserably failed. So the one called Mulan had them thrown in a pit. She could have just run to them and catch them, but instead she had knocked Mary Margaret out.

Emma looked at her friend, her mother. They would find their way out of this, she promised herself… even if she has to kick this Asian bitch that dared hurt her mother.

She would get her family back.

In the shadows of the cell, another woman saw the scene happen and was prepared to make her entrance. Regina’s mother, Cora, had a smile. A smile which resembled her daughter’s a little too much.

 

Storybrooke, Maine

Blue Beard left his car and entered his house, feeling free from all pain or regret. He didn’t owe anyone anymore and was pleased with himself. All that it had cost him was a little bit of his magic. Granted, he now had very little left, but at least, he wasn’t perpetually dying. He could always go after the rest of the Fisher King’s family to regain his power, now that the most important was over with.

He closed his door and turned the lights on… to reveal the presence of Mr Gold, casually sitting on one of his couches.

“Well, well, well… what took you so long?”  
“You! What are you doing here?”  
“I’m here because you tried to take something of value from me.”  
“What? Your pretend ex-wife?”  
“Her name is Rapunzel! You owed her your well-being, dearie. And you almost killed her in return. I will not let this stand.”

Almost… so she wasn’t dead?

“What are you going to do about it? Kill me?” Blue Beard asked.  
“Oh, no. This would be too easy.”

And the pawnbroker rose and approached him with a menacing stare. Blue Beard tried to defend himself with his own magic, but he was quickly immobilised, for he has just given some of his power to Regina. Rumpelstiltskin threw him on a chair and engulfed him in a purple cloud of magic. Blue Beard struggled but nothing changed. When the cloud eventually dissipated, its magic had made him feel all horrible; like he was perpetually dying all over again.

“What did you do?”  
“Simple… The gift Rapunzel gave you can always be taken away if you don’t behave! And… you… didn’t.”

The man began to choke again and feel all his pains come back to him, one by one. He panicked. On top of him, his tormentor smiled.

“That’s right, dearie… a fate worse than death.”

And Rumpelstiltskin slowly walked out of the door, leaving the poor man to suffer his fate worse than death, with no more magic to even help make it bearable, forever at the mercy of Gothel’s daughter when she would recover. He knew that if she recovered, he never would.


End file.
